Jose Mourinho

[Yiddo100]

We also lost 5-1 to City, 4-0 to Liverpool, and 4-0 to Chelsea later that same season

It took me a while to get over the feeling we were going to be absolutely Wigan'd every time we came up against Liverpool/City.

You’re already over that feeling? Lucky

 

[Timberwolf]

So 4 docu's 3 title wins, 1 relegation so its 25% chance of relegation next season, 75% chance of title win, I like those odds

And at least if we get relegated we get the excitement of losing repeated finals at Wembley the following season!! ?

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I was thinking about transfers and Mourinho and Levy etc after reading this report by A Gold last week and I think it is pretty much on the money as to how we will operate this summer and what is going on behind the scenes. Mourinho seems to be making it very easy for Levy and now it really is up to him to deliver. I don't think I have ever seen Mourinho speak like this before, certainly not in England and it is a very different mindset to what he had at Man U were he didn't feel Woodward had his back on transfers. If Levy doesn't this window, then I really believe he is asking for trouble. It seems he wants a level of honesty in his job, which Levy has to deliver on. If he doesn't with Mourinho then I don't know where we turn under this ownership because there is nowhere else.

Here are some quotes:

Jose Mourinho says he knows exactly what is required at Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer window and what is realistic and admits he sends detailed reports to those in the club so they are well aware.

Mourinho is keen to make a few key tweaks to his squad to provide more balance, with the likes of Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and South Korean international centre-back Kim Min-jae, who plays for Chinese side Beijing Guoan, among those on their list of young transfer targets.

"What needs to be done? First of all is to be realistic," he said. "I know where the best players in the world are. I can, not here, but if we sit together having a coffee I can give you a shortlist of the best players in the world per position. For some it is easier to do it. For others it is more difficult because that is not realistic so the most important thing is to be realistic.
"Is to analyse the market opportunities, to analyse the clubs that are willing to sell, to analyse the player that is in the end of his contract or the last year of his contract and where the club is ready to try to have some kind of creative deals.

"That is a different profile so I know exactly what we need. I know exactly what I would like and how to be realistic and no problems at all.
"The club also knows me a little bit better now than before. I think, only Mr Levy can say it, but I think it is very easy to work with me because I am very open, I am very pragmatic.
"I like to write it. I like to do my periodical reports to the club analysing the situation, the different situations, project the future so with me everything is written.
"It’s not like to tell on the phone and the next day you run away from what you said and you deny. With me, not at all so I think it is quite easy to work with me in that direction and when I am respectful and realistic we are fine because we understand each other."

Absolutely spot on and great post, now its over to Daniel...

 

[sausage]

I was thinking about transfers and Mourinho and Levy etc after reading this report by A Gold last week and I think it is pretty much on the money as to how we will operate this summer and what is going on behind the scenes. Mourinho seems to be making it very easy for Levy and now it really is up to him to deliver. I don't think I have ever seen Mourinho speak like this before, certainly not in England and it is a very different mindset to what he had at Man U were he didn't feel Woodward had his back on transfers. If Levy doesn't this window, then I really believe he is asking for trouble. It seems he wants a level of honesty in his job, which Levy has to deliver on. If he doesn't with Mourinho then I don't know where we turn under this ownership because there is nowhere else.

Here are some quotes:

Jose Mourinho says he knows exactly what is required at Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer window and what is realistic and admits he sends detailed reports to those in the club so they are well aware.

Mourinho is keen to make a few key tweaks to his squad to provide more balance, with the likes of Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and South Korean international centre-back Kim Min-jae, who plays for Chinese side Beijing Guoan, among those on their list of young transfer targets.

"What needs to be done? First of all is to be realistic," he said. "I know where the best players in the world are. I can, not here, but if we sit together having a coffee I can give you a shortlist of the best players in the world per position. For some it is easier to do it. For others it is more difficult because that is not realistic so the most important thing is to be realistic.
"Is to analyse the market opportunities, to analyse the clubs that are willing to sell, to analyse the player that is in the end of his contract or the last year of his contract and where the club is ready to try to have some kind of creative deals.

"That is a different profile so I know exactly what we need. I know exactly what I would like and how to be realistic and no problems at all.
"The club also knows me a little bit better now than before. I think, only Mr Levy can say it, but I think it is very easy to work with me because I am very open, I am very pragmatic.
"I like to write it. I like to do my periodical reports to the club analysing the situation, the different situations, project the future so with me everything is written.
"It’s not like to tell on the phone and the next day you run away from what you said and you deny. With me, not at all so I think it is quite easy to work with me in that direction and when I am respectful and realistic we are fine because we understand each other."

I think with Mourinho we'll see a better reflection on how the club operates.

I think the club got also lot of stick for signing Harry Redknapp type players, ignoring the fact that Harry Redknapp was involved. People have made a lot of excuses for the manager over the last 10 years or so, and if anyone can clarify how we work with transfers it's Mourinho (imo). There's no chance you could pass him off as being happy to toe the company line etc.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Yeah and Sunderland have absolutely smashed it since their docu...

Shit. Are we gonna get relegated?

Yeah but that was Netflix...

 

[spursfan77]

I think with Mourinho we'll see a better reflection on how the club operates.

I think the club got also lot of stick for signing Harry Redknapp type players, ignoring the fact that Harry Redknapp was involved. People have made a lot of excuses for the manager over the last 10 years or so, and if anyone can clarify how we work with transfers it's Mourinho (imo). There's no chance you could pass him off as being happy to tow the company line etc.

I posted in the Man U thread at the time about him not happy with how things were run behind the scenes at Man Utd and with Woodward and I think it all stemmed from transfers. Having players forced on him, them not selling players he wanted rid of and not getting targets in. But above all that I think he was lied to as to how they would operate and it ruined the job for him, which in turn he helped ruin himself. I've never been a Mourinho fan before he joined us, but I felt sorry for him towards the end of his time at Man U because you could tell he wasn't really in control. It seems like that with Solskjaer but he isn't as decorated/is a different type of person to Mourinho so is willing to tow the party line. Lets see what happens when the next guy goes into Man Utd who isn't as much as a puppet as Solskjaer and I bet he makes the same noises as Mourinho did during the end of his time there.

Levy cant make that mistake with him or play his usual games or else it will go the same way.

 

[The Doc]

I posted in the Man U thread at the time about him not happy with how things were run behind the scenes at Man Utd and with Woodward and I think it all stemmed from transfers. Having players forced on him, them not selling players he wanted rid of and not getting targets in. But above all that I think he was lied to as to how they would operate and it ruined the job for him, which in turn he helped ruin himself. I've never been a Mourinho fan before he joined us, but I felt sorry for him towards the end of his time at Man U because you could tell he wasn't really in control. It seems like that with Solskjaer but he isn't as decorated/is a different type of person to Mourinho so is willing to tow the party line. Lets see what happens when the next guy goes into Man Utd who isn't as much as a puppet as Solskjaer and I bet he makes the same noises as Mourinho did during the end of his time there.

Levy cant make that mistake with him or play his usual games or else it will go the same way.

Wow. Those first 3 sentences remind me of a similar situation. Damn. Can't remember which club and personnel involved tho.

 

[buckley]

The comment about Redknapp and transfers is in my eyes a reflection on Redknapp himself for instance the Nelson and Saha transfers I believe there was some connection between their agent and Harrys agent I think this statement sums up Harry and transfers .
Make of it what you will I think the only really successful signing in Redknaps time was Van der Vaart and he was a Levy buy .

 

[rabbikeane]

Make of it what you will I think the only really successful signing in Redknaps time was Van der Vaart and he was a Levy buy .

Don't know about that. He brought Defoe back to the club, signed Scott Parker. We wouldn't have had our first CL season without Kaboul and Crouch. Palacios and Sandro, they broke down, but were quality. Friedel and Adebayor solid. Kyle Walker.

Nelsen and Saha might have come from Redknapp connections, but I doubt it was the players he really wanted us to go for.

 

[sausage]

Wow. Those first 3 sentences remind me of a similar situation. Damn. Can't remember which club and personnel involved tho.

[insert manager here] at Chelsea

 

[Timberwolf]

I posted in the Man U thread at the time about him not happy with how things were run behind the scenes at Man Utd and with Woodward and I think it all stemmed from transfers. Having players forced on him, them not selling players he wanted rid of and not getting targets in. But above all that I think he was lied to as to how they would operate and it ruined the job for him, which in turn he helped ruin himself. I've never been a Mourinho fan before he joined us, but I felt sorry for him towards the end of his time at Man U because you could tell he wasn't really in control. It seems like that with Solskjaer but he isn't as decorated/is a different type of person to Mourinho so is willing to tow the party line. Lets see what happens when the next guy goes into Man Utd who isn't as much as a puppet as Solskjaer and I bet he makes the same noises as Mourinho did during the end of his time there.

Levy cant make that mistake with him or play his usual games or else it will go the same way.

I wonder what the truth is behind the Man Utd transfer fallout? I suspect it's somewhere in the middle and both Mourinho and Woodward are due some share of the blame.

If you look at their business over those 3 seasons there are a few signings that are very clearly Mourinho signings (Matic, Zlatan) a few that he must have condoned, even if they weren't his first choice (Bailly, Lindelhof, Fred) and a few that, presumably were done primarily with commercial interests in mind (Pogba, Sanchez).

In his final summer, their business was fairly pitiful (Lee Grant, Fred and Dalot) and I can see why he was a bit annoyed. I presume Jose felt that the club had spent colossal amounts on players like Sanchez, Pogba and Lukaku who weren't his preferred choices and, as a result, weren't supporting him in the market when he really needed it to push on. To which Woodward would reply "We've spent over £300 million and Sanchez and Pogba are 2 of the world's best players - make it work!".

However, whichever way you look at it, Jose must've had a big say in their transfer policy and they paid very big fees for a lot of fairly unproven players (Fred, Lindelhof, Bailly) that Jose was then unable to get the best out of, so it's understandable that Woodward was reluctant to spend more.

My general impression is that if you give a shit chairman whose primary focus is commercial success too much money, he'll piss a lot of it up the wall and massively overpay for every transfer, whether you need them or not. Combine that with a firebrand who wants constant investment and doesn't suffer fools gladly...the outcome isn't pretty.

Now going back to Spurs, it sounds like Jose is actually being very understanding of our transfer situation and not expecting Levy to move heaven and earth to sign Koulibaly or whoever. This is actually a really positive sign, but also means Levy has absolutely nowhere to hide if he can't guarantee Jose his modest demands.

*This entire post is pure speculation based on half-remembered facts, and you may be dumber as a result of reading it.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

The comment about Redknapp and transfers is in my eyes a reflection on Redknapp himself for instance the Nelson and Saha transfers I believe there was some connection between their agent and Harrys agent I think this statement sums up Harry and transfers .
Make of it what you will I think the only really successful signing in Redknaps time was Van der Vaart and he was a Levy buy .

Your forgot to mention Niko !

 

[Timberwolf]

Don't know about that. He brought Defoe back to the club, signed Scott Parker. We wouldn't have had our first CL season without Kaboul and Crouch. Palacios and Sandro, they broke down, but were quality. Friedel and Adebayor solid. Kyle Walker.

Nelsen and Saha might have come from Redknapp connections, but I doubt it was the players he really wanted us to go for.

Yeah - I think most of Harry's signings were pretty decent, if a bit uninspired and short term. As you say, Crouch, Kranjcar, Parker, Defoe, Palacios, Friedel and Adebayor were all solid signings that did a good job for us. Without some of those signings and Harry's man management we might not have got into Champions League.

However, it's also worth noting that none of them stayed at the club for too long and the truly inspired signings (Modric and Bale) were ones made before Harry joined. Also I get the feeling Walker and especially Sandro were more 'club' signings that Harry accepted.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I think with Mourinho we'll see a better reflection on how the club operates.

I think the club got also lot of stick for signing Harry Redknapp type players, ignoring the fact that Harry Redknapp was involved. People have made a lot of excuses for the manager over the last 10 years or so, and if anyone can clarify how we work with transfers it's Mourinho (imo). There's no chance you could pass him off as being happy to toe the company line etc.

spot on.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I posted in the Man U thread at the time about him not happy with how things were run behind the scenes at Man Utd and with Woodward and I think it all stemmed from transfers. Having players forced on him, them not selling players he wanted rid of and not getting targets in. But above all that I think he was lied to as to how they would operate and it ruined the job for him, which in turn he helped ruin himself. I've never been a Mourinho fan before he joined us, but I felt sorry for him towards the end of his time at Man U because you could tell he wasn't really in control. It seems like that with Solskjaer but he isn't as decorated/is a different type of person to Mourinho so is willing to tow the party line. Lets see what happens when the next guy goes into Man Utd who isn't as much as a puppet as Solskjaer and I bet he makes the same noises as Mourinho did during the end of his time there.

Levy cant make that mistake with him or play his usual games or else it will go the same way.

Agree with a lot of this and you're spot on about why it went wrong for Jose but I don't think Solskjaer is a puttet at all, he'll have wanted man.u to go back to the roots under fergie of homegrown british players and some superstars, their recent signings reflect this perfectly:
AWB
Maguire
Daniel James
B.Fernandes

Ole is very much being able to build the team he wants, jose wasn't and like you say he was lied to which was the main issue, then as you say he let it destroy himself.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I wonder what the truth is behind the Man Utd transfer fallout? I suspect it's somewhere in the middle and both Mourinho and Woodward are due some share of the blame.

If you look at their business over those 3 seasons there are a few signings that are very clearly Mourinho signings (Matic, Zlatan) a few that he must have condoned, even if they weren't his first choice (Bailly, Lindelhof, Fred) and a few that, presumably were done primarily with commercial interests in mind (Pogba, Sanchez).

In his final summer, their business was fairly pitiful (Lee Grant, Fred and Dalot) and I can see why he was a bit annoyed. I presume Jose felt that the club had spent colossal amounts on players like Sanchez, Pogba and Lukaku who weren't his preferred choices and, as a result, weren't supporting him in the market when he really needed it to push on. To which Woodward would reply "We've spent over £300 million and Sanchez and Pogba are 2 of the world's best players - make it work!".

However, whichever way you look at it, Jose must've had a big say in their transfer policy and they paid very big fees for a lot of fairly unproven players (Fred, Lindelhof, Bailly) that Jose was then unable to get the best out of, so it's understandable that Woodward was reluctant to spend more.

My general impression is that if you give a shit chairman whose primary focus is commercial success too much money, he'll piss a lot of it up the wall and massively overpay for every transfer, whether you need them or not. Combine that with a firebrand who wants constant investment and doesn't suffer fools gladly...the outcome isn't pretty.

Now going back to Spurs, it sounds like Jose is actually being very understanding of our transfer situation and not expecting Levy to move heaven and earth to sign Koulibaly or whoever. This is actually a really positive sign, but also means Levy has absolutely nowhere to hide if he can't guarantee Jose his modest demands.

*This entire post is pure speculation based on half-remembered facts, and you may be dumber as a result of reading it.

great post, very much agree.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

"That is a different profile so I know exactly what we need. I know exactly what I would like and how to be realistic and no problems at all.
"The club also knows me a little bit better now than before. I think, only Mr Levy can say it, but I think it is very easy to work with me because I am very open, I am very pragmatic.
"I like to write it. I like to do my periodical reports to the club analysing the situation, the different situations, project the future so with me everything is written.
"It’s not like to tell on the phone and the next day you run away from what you said and you deny. With me, not at all so I think it is quite easy to work with me in that direction and when I am respectful and realistic we are fine because we understand each other."

It might be because we just won 3-0, but I'm warming to Mou

 

[Albertbarich]

November 2013

Manchester City 6-0 Tottenham Hotspur

December 2013

Tottenham Hotspur 0-5 Liverpool

Behave yourself.

He was shit but context is key here

I was referring to a more defensive minded coach not who was the worst because there are lmenty of contenders for that crown.

 

[sausage]

The comment about Redknapp and transfers is in my eyes a reflection on Redknapp himself for instance the Nelson and Saha transfers I believe there was some connection between their agent and Harrys agent I think this statement sums up Harry and transfers .
Make of it what you will I think the only really successful signing in Redknaps time was Van der Vaart and he was a Levy buy .

Well indeed.

Signing ageing PL players on short term deals is something Harry's done in almost every club he's managed I think. It's mostly something considered to be the antithesis of a Levy player.
Add to that the fact that a) Harry obvious wasn't planning to stick around, and b) as much as I like him, is definitely the kind of guy who wouldn't have been planning on leaving a bunch of shiny new players for the new manager (got to keep your stock high, can't be doing a better job than him), I very much get the feeling that he wanted to bring lads for the very short term who would cement our fight for the title and didn't need anything beyond that. Of course it backfired a bit and the rest is history.

Basically, as I've mentioned recently, we have two types of singings at our club - the young ones that Pleat/McDermott/Levy (possibly one/combo) bring in for varying reasons, and the first team players that the manager seems to want. Granted we haven't always done well with the latter, but there's a pattern there imo. Not that it's unusual, I think that most clubs operate that way.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

Well indeed.

Signing ageing PL players on short term deals is something Harry's done in almost every club he's managed I think. It's mostly something considered to be the antithesis of a Levy player.
Add to that the fact that a) Harry obvious wasn't planning to stick around, and b) as much as I like him, is definitely the kind of guy who wouldn't have been planning on leaving a bunch of shiny new players for the new manager (got to keep your stock high, can't be doing a better job than him), I very much get the feeling that he wanted to bring lads for the very short term who would cement our fight for the title and didn't need anything beyond that. Of course it backfired a bit and the rest is history.

Basically, as I've mentioned recently, we have two types of singings at our club - the young ones that Pleat/McDermott/Levy (possibly one/combo) bring in for varying reasons, and the first team players that the manager seems to want. Granted we haven't always done well with the latter, but there's a pattern there imo. Not that it's unusual, I think that most clubs operate that way.

Admittedly I haven't done statistical research on this, but I suspect we've had more than our statistically speaking fair share of transfer failures. We haven't succeeded that well with young signings either, plenty of N'Bentley signings to go around.